Ecuador Declares ‘War’ on Gangs Amid Rising Violence. How Did It Get Here? - National

Ecuador declares ‘war’ on gangs amid rising violence. How did it get here? - National

The rising violence inside the once relatively peaceful Ecuador has stunned longtime observers who are concerned about how the government will respond.

Ecuador’s Noboa declared war on 22 gangs. In his new term, he faces many more.

How unrelenting gang violence has tested the president’s militarized approach On 24 May, the incumbent right-wing President Daniel Noboa was sworn in in Ecuador, after winning the runoff of the presidential election against leftist Luisa González. Elections were held amid an unprecedented wave of violence linked to organized crime in a country that was once one of the least violent places in Latin America but quickly turned into the region’s mur…